Community Building

People-friendly space with plenty of outdoor park benches - Photo from Project for Public Space

When it comes to open spaces, just creating an area with a "build it and they will come" approach doesn't always work. According to experts, it takes a combination of the right people, plenty of outdoor park benches, strategically placed sidewalks, empty trash cans, secure bike racks and a whole lot more.

How many times have you walked through an open public area that was somehow just not right and not inviting? Or how many times have you visited a location and thought, gee, it would be nice if there was some way to hang out here but right now there is no comfortable way to do that?

According to researchers at

To add variety to the holidays, take the opportunity to take the family outside and visit local parks

The holidays are a time when families and people gather to exchange gifts, sit down together for a meal and just take time to be together.

But after all the presents are opened, the meals are consumed and everyone is caught up with everybody else, one of the best things you can do with family and friends is get outside!

Go for a walk together. Visit a park. Toss a football or kick a soccer ball. Ride your new bikes.

Mother Nature gives us the best gift of all - the great outdoors. Blue skies and green grass all wrapped up in a giant package of fresh air.

Sure, we know, it's the Age of Technology. But you can bring your new tablets, iPhones, and hand-held game consoles with you. Sit on a park bench or a picnic table and play, take photos or create videos.

The main thing is to just get out of the house. It breaks up the day, it gives people some elbow

Commercial planters easily add curb appeal to apartment

Why is curb appeal so important to renters? How much impact could commercial planters filled with colorful flowers or a shiny, clean park bench have on a prospective tenant? How can you spruce up the outside look of your apartment complex without blowing up your budget?

After all, curb appeal is basically a first impression, the first image a renter receives about your property. And we all know how important first impressions are from our interaction over the years with fellow humans.

Let's start with the psychology. The reason why first impressions are so critical is because our brains gather an incredible mass of information when trying to make a decision. Because there is such a complex amount of data processing going on, the brain looks for shortcuts.

This has evolutionary

Source: Heartland Habitat for Humanit

The first Thanksgiving held in America back in 1621 was held on wooden picnic tables and in a show of support and thanks, The Park Catalog has donated 400 wooden planks to the Heartland Habitat for Humanity in Kansas City, KS.

If you are not familiar with the charity, Habitat for Humanity is an amazing organization. It was created in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller and its purpose is to eliminate substandard housing, homelessness and basically provide places for people to live.

As we gather around the dinner table this Thursday, many of us may take for granted that roof over our heads. But an adequate home is something a large part of the world's population does not get to enjoy. There are an estimated 2 billion people who live in slum housing and more than 100 million are homeless. That's Habitat for Humanity's mission, to create "a world where everyone has a decent

Courtesy of League of American Bicyclist

A bike parking rack takes up less space and is becoming a preferred part of the urban landscape as research shows more people choose to ride their bikes to work instead of drive their cars.

The League of American Bicyclists issued a report recently indicating that from 2000 to 2011, bicycle commuting in bike-friendly communities skyrocketed by 80%.

Here's a breakdown of some of the cities with the highest growth in bike commuters. These city dwellers prefer to leave their mode of transportation in a space-saving parking bike rack instead of their car in a space-wasting garage:

Portland - 443% Lexington-Fayette County, KY - 435% Washington DC - 315% San Francisco - 258%